Türkiye Defence Exports Hit $10B Record in 2025

Türkiye defence exports 2025 passed the $10 billion threshold for the first time, marking a structural shift in the country’s defence and aerospace industry. According to official figures cited by the Presidency of Defense Industries, Türkiye closed 2025 with $10.054 billion in defence and aerospace exports, up about 48% from 2024.

The result matters because it shows more than a one-year sales spike. It confirms that Türkiye’s defence export base now combines mature platforms, a widening supplier ecosystem and stronger state-backed export mechanisms. It also places the sector closer to Ankara’s 2028 target of becoming one of the world’s top 10 defence exporters.

This article is Part 1 of a five-part Defence Agenda series on Türkiye’s defence industry.

Key Facts

2025 export total: $10.054 billion in defence and aerospace exports.
Annual growth: approximately 48% compared with 2024.
Goods exports: $9.87 billion, supported by aircraft, UAVs, land systems, munitions and naval products.
Service exports: $184 million, including maintenance, training and technical support.
Share of total exports: defence and aerospace reached about 3.7% of Türkiye’s total exports.
New contracts: SSB cited $17.8 billion in new contract volume for 2025.

The Numbers Behind Türkiye Defence Exports 2025

The headline figure requires careful reading. Turkish officials reported $10.054 billion in total defence and aerospace exports for 2025. That figure combines $9.87 billion in goods exports and $184 million in service exports. Türkiye’s Exporters Assembly data, which tracks monthly sector exports, also placed the goods-based annual total slightly above $10 billion.

Year	Exports	Main Indicator
2022	$4.4 billion	Defence and aerospace share of total exports: 1.7%
2024	$7.154 billion	Baseline before 2025 record growth
2025	$10.054 billion	First year above the $10 billion threshold

December 2025 was decisive. SSB President Haluk Görgün said monthly defence and aerospace exports exceeded $2.5 billion in December alone. That late-year surge helped lift the sector above a symbolic and operationally important export threshold.

What Drove the 2025 Defence Export Surge?

Three forces explain the record.

Platform maturity moved exports beyond prototypes

Türkiye no longer exports only selected subsystems or limited vehicle batches. Its catalogue now includes unmanned aircraft, armoured vehicles, precision munitions, naval systems, electronic warfare products, trainers and command-control software. This maturity reduces buyer risk. It also creates follow-on demand for training, upgrades, spares and sustainment.

European and NATO demand expanded the market

Higher NATO procurement after 2022 created demand for faster delivery, lower lifecycle cost and combat-proven systems. Turkish companies benefited from this shift. Defence Turkey cited official remarks that about $5.6 billion, or roughly 56% of 2025 exports, went to the European Union, NATO countries and the United States. The United States, the United Kingdom and Slovakia ranked among the leading destinations.

State-backed export mechanisms became more important

SSB’s international cooperation strategy places export growth, government-to-government sales and structured industrial cooperation at the centre of the 2024–2028 agenda. That matters for major platform sales. Buyers often need more than hardware. They seek financing, training, industrial participation, local sustainment and political assurance.

Company Base and Supply Chain Depth

The export record also reflects a wider industrial base. Türkiye’s defence and aerospace ecosystem now extends beyond a small group of prime contractors. It includes UAV producers, electronics firms, missile houses, shipyards, armoured vehicle manufacturers, software companies and specialised SMEs.

This depth matters for resilience. A broad supplier base supports faster integration and more competitive pricing. It also helps Turkish companies offer customised export packages. For buyers in Asia, Europe, Africa and the Middle East, that flexibility can be as important as headline platform performance.

Strategic Implications for Türkiye’s Defence Industry

The 2025 result strengthens Türkiye’s position in three ways. First, it gives the sector a larger foreign-currency base. Second, it improves the credibility of long-cycle programmes such as combat aircraft, advanced trainers, naval platforms and layered air defence. Third, it gives Ankara more leverage in defence diplomacy.

There is also a constraint. Export growth will remain vulnerable to engine supply, export-control restrictions, certification timelines and delivery risk. The next stage will therefore depend on industrial execution, not only sales momentum.

Implications / Next

Türkiye has already reached the $10 billion export level that once looked like a late-decade target. The next question is whether the sector can make that level repeatable. Key indicators will include monthly export stability in 2026, delivery schedules for major platform contracts, service export growth and the conversion of 2025’s $17.8 billion contract pipeline into actual deliveries.

SSB’s 2024–2028 export strategy set an $11 billion defence and aerospace export target for 2028. The 2025 result shows that Türkiye has reached that range earlier than expected. Sustaining it will require deeper localisation, more predictable financing and stronger after-sales infrastructure in partner markets.